Sharing thoughts on comics and related entertainment

Marvel vs.DC on Netflix Streaming

Hey comic fans, I know things have been quiet here at Comic Hype but have no fear, we are still here and will continue to submit news and reviews throughout 2012. Recent life changes have kept me away from comics as well as this website and I’ve decided to make a couple of changes. First, we are running on an updated version of WordPress and I need to write a new How-To article for our authors on creating and customizing their posts. Two, following our favorite authors and artists on Twitter is fun and we decided to integrate auto-Tweeting of new posts to increase social media activity as it’s been too difficult for me to manually keep our Twitter feed and Facebook page activity going. As always, we’re continually looking for people who would like to contribute to this blog and with that, I’m willing to open it up into more subject areas. What about just blogging opinions and experiences with comics and comic related media? I know that the bulk of our posts have been mostly comic book related but maybe we can make things a bit more opinionated here and stir up some conversation.

What I want to get off my chest today is how I feel Marvel is making a devilishly smart decision with Netflix and offering multiple streaming titles all under various ratings. Yes, you can find DC titles as well but they are not near as plentiful as Marvels’ and most if not all of the DC titles are rated for a higher age group. My son has quickly grown to love, and I mean LOVE, superheroes. Most of his exposure has been with television shows, toys, and activity books. I do buy him a comic here and there and you can bet your dupa we’ll be going to out local shop on Free Comic Book Day 2012 next month! Now, I consider myself primarily a DC fan as the majority of the books I buy and the heroes I follow come from the DC Universe. My son on the other hand? He’s 90% Marvel. Why? He gets to experience Iron Man, the Hulk, and X-Men all in the Y7 rating and he can do it whenever we allow him to watch TV. Marvel simply beats DC here because of the title and age group selection. Below is a current sample of titles available from Marvel and DC that I either would or would not allow my little one to watch.TV-Y7 Titles Quickly Available on Netflix Streaming :Click Here for Rating Information

Starting to see a pattern here? It’s VERY easy to find multiple Y7 like titles from Marvel. Given, Y7 is meant for children ages 7+ but as a parent you can be the judge as to what you feel your child should or shouldn’t watch. On occasion I hear language or an attitude I don’t like but overall, I feel the Y7 rating could safely be shared among the 5-10 age group. Honestly, some of them are so good, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you’ll still enjoy watching them along side your little one. Shifting gears a bit, let’s take a quick look at what DC is offering on Netflix streaming.

Umm, ya…. I’m still looking as I write this article. In this micro-list, some of the Superman content is acceptable but it’s NR so depends on your point of view I guess. The Superman/Batman title listed here is for teens, not small children. So, as my son grows up, which company do you think he’s going to have a stronger attachment to? Yep…. Marvel. Why am I more attached to DC? Because DC ruled my Saturday mornings as a kid. Ya, I watched some Spidey too back in the day but in this age when you can watch for the most part whatever and whenever you want, the focus is content. Can you hear me DC? You are greatly losing the battle (at least in my house) against Marvel in the 5-10 age group. Perhaps there are many households like mine where boys and girls like superheroes and Mom and Dad allow them to watch shows on Netflix? I’d put money on all of those kids becoming Marvel fans over DC fans for the long haul. Please DC Universe, add more streaming content to Netflix or any other service like Amazon Prime and show these kids how great Batman, Green Lantern, Superman, and Aquaman are. What about Justice League from the mid 1980’s? Put those episodes into a streaming service! Bring us ‘The Batman’ from 2004 or what about the recently released ‘Batman: The Brave and the Bold’? How about some ‘Super Friends’ titles from the 70’s? I could go on but you get the point. If Netflix has an agreement with Marvel and simply cannot support many DC titles, then hit their competitor, Amazon, and get some content online. I have been considering purchasing Amazon Prime myself due to the amount of benefits the membership offers and a deal with DC would be the icing on the cake. Heck, let’s add more fuel to the fire and get a Kindle partnership too and give discounts on digital graphic novels and comics for Prime members. Hopefully I’m not rambling by now but am I wrong!? DC needs to find a way to take more control of streaming media and find a way to get that content into our living rooms and playrooms.

Post navigation

2 thoughts on “Marvel vs.DC on Netflix Streaming”

I think Netflix having both of them on their streaming content gives the kids a lot of variety of super heroes. I can say that my son is more into the Marvel cartoons over DC, but he watches a lot of that on our Blockbuster@Home service through DISH. He loves it and it is so much better than Netflix. You get more of a variety and it is cheaper. A co-worker at DISH convinced me to try it out when Netflix raised their prices and I have never really thought they had a big variety of content. With the Blockbuster@Home service I can get mail-in DVD’s and streaming service, so he can watch all the cartoons he wants.

I don’t think Canadian Netflix has any DC titles whatsoever. Luckily Batman (1966) was added the same month we subscribed, so thanks to Adam West, my daughter is obsessed with the Batman mythos. I’d love to show her some Batman Cartoons, and my son is getting old enough now to develop some interest in the in the TV screen, but DC is missing the boat.